By 2030, the EU Commission wants to reduce the limit values for fine dust in the air by more than half. Member States must take appropriate measures themselves.
Morning rush hour on Bismarckstrasse in Berlin.
top. The European Commission presented new plans to reduce air pollution in Europe in Brussels on Wednesday. According to Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, the EU intends to follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) more closely.
In Europe, 300,000 people die prematurely every year because of polluted air. The most dangerous pollutant is the fine dust PM 2.5. The limit for the proportion of PM 2.5 in the air is to be reduced by more than half by 2030, namely from 25 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The guidelines of the WHO already allow only 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
If the new limit value for particulate matter is observed, the number of deaths due to PM 2.5 could be reduced by three quarters in ten years, according to the EU Commission.
Member States must take their own measures
The new regulation of the Commission does not contain any specific measures, but only sets standards for air quality. How these are achieved is a matter for the Member States.
Air pollution is the number one environmental threat to human health and a leading cause of chronic diseases such as stroke, cancer and diabetes. Reducing particulate matter in the air by the end of the decade is an intermediate step in combating this problem. By 2050, the EU Commission wants to reduce pollutants in the air to zero if possible.